Widening Peerless 900 Transaxle

[spongerich]

I have a spare transaxle and was thinking of widening mine by using the longer axle from the spare in place of the short one.

Aside from the need to mount the transaxle offset a few inches to center everything, is there any reason anyone can think of why this wouldn't be a simple and effective way to gain some width?

On a semi-related note, I want to mount the engine and the tranny as close as possible to reduce the overall length of my kart. How much space do you think I'll need for the clutch pulleys so that I'll have enough slack/tension? It's going to be a off-roader, so I'm not looking for 50mph, but I do need to climb some fairly steep hills without slipping.

 

[OzFab]

As long as the axles are identical I can't see a problem.

Do I understand correctly, you're using a belt drive setup? No problem with that, just need to clarify

 

[spongerich]

Yup... basically using the drivetrain from the mower with different pulleys for higher speed and "race-prepping" the transmission. Trying to decide on lubrication now... folks over at the mower racing forums seem split between using factory grease with some STP or Marvel Mystery Oil to thin it out a little and using 90W gear oil. Since it's only going to be driven once or twice a month, I'm leaning towards the grease since I think it'll leak out a little less. I did add some zerk fittings to the axle area... having straight grease packed in there should help with the leakage and provide good lubrication.

 

[OzFab]

In that case, you'll need a bit of tension on the belt to avoid slipping. The only problem with that is the more tension you add the less efficient your clutch becomes (if you're using a centrifugal clutch) as the tension will put the drum on an angle.

 

[spongerich]

Thanks. No centrifugal clutch in the plans... just a pulley-tensioner like the mower originally used. I'm going to rig up a double pulley to put extra tension without having to deflect the belt as far.

 

[OzFab]

Ah, good plan, that makes it a whole lot easier.

Now, as for positioning; you probably realise that you'll need to get the clutch idler between the 2 pulleys, apart from that, the only limitation you have is the length of belt you use. Do some shopping & find out what is the smallest belt available & go from there.

I'm planning the same thing, so I've thought this through hundreds of times

 

[crazyman]

You might want to consider a bearing out at the end of the long axle somewhere before the tire.

 

[spongerich]

You might want to consider a bearing out at the end of the long axle somewhere before the tire.

Don't think there's going to be room since that's where I"m planning to put my brake. There's only about 4-5" between the casing and the inside edge of the wheel. I was thinking about seeing if there's a spot inside the transaxle that I could machine out to install some bearings but the case is already pretty thin and I'm not sure there's enough metal anywhere. I might see if I can squeeze a couple of pillow blocks right where the axles leave the case.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Given the shaft diameter (usually 3/4") you will want to find a way to support the long side especially. Trust me- support it.

 

[OzFab]

Don't think there's going to be room since that's where I"m planning to put my brake. There's only about 4-5" between the casing and the inside edge of the wheel. I was thinking about seeing if there's a spot inside the transaxle that I could machine out to install some bearings but the case is already pretty thin and I'm not sure there's enough metal anywhere. I might see if I can squeeze a couple of pillow blocks right where the axles leave the case.

Given the shaft diameter (usually 3/4") you will want to find a way to support the long side especially. Trust me- support it.

Find room. One hard bump & you could shatter your casing or, at the very least, fracture it. A pillow block only takes up 1 1/4"; it's a better alternative than rebuilding the casing

 

[spongerich]

Thanks. I'm still a little on the fence about the whole rear-end design. My current thinking is to put the engine and tranny on a sub frame and make it into a giant swing-arm, but I've got a large-ish 15HP Tecumseh motor and I'm a little concerned about the weight. I have 2 rear shocks that came off some Honda 300ex quads, so they're pretty beefy, but that's a lot of weight flopping around in the back. It's also going to complicate hooking up the shift linkage since I'll almost certainly need to use a cable setup rather than a rigid linkage.

Plan B is to use the short axles on both sides, find some u-joints and make a fully independent rear suspension.